


Several Nights to Pass

by snowingdragons



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Frostcup - Freeform, Hijack, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-02-26 06:25:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2641457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowingdragons/pseuds/snowingdragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>' The figure was a teen, perhaps a bit older than Hiccup was and every bit as pale as his white hair. He frowned at the sight of the two, shaking his head as he stepped out of the bush and tried to shoo them. The brunet just stepped closer, going a bit past the tree he hid next to. Toothless grabbed his friend's shoulder as he watched. There were no pranks, no smiles or laughs to be had. And frankly, he wished his best friend would do the uncharacteristic thing and walk back home before they found out if the rumors from the villagers were true. <br/>“Who are you?” The young prince asked, ignoring the tugging of his sleeve. “Are you this beast they all speak of.” Snow began to fall softly around the other teen, his face twisting with regret and worry. The wind blew harder and even though it was hard to hear his own thoughts, he heard the 'beast' speak a single word. A warning.<br/>“Leave.”'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Um...hello! I'm...I'm really, really, REALLY, new to this site. I've heard so much great things and I've prepared this just for this site. Not my first fic but it is my first here. So...yeah. I guess I have to say this because it's all I've seen on the top of new fics. I don't own the characters or the franchises. All I own is the idea which isn't even very creative. Also, sorry for the shortness and sorry for any other mistakes I have made.

The only time the castle got any louder than a peep was during celebrations, holidays, and banquets. And even then, if one were to sit in a room not too far away from where the festivities took place, you could still hear a pin drop. When walking through the halls and up the staircases, you could hear the occasional whisper or mutter of a guard as your footsteps echoed against the walls. Noise was a very foreign concept. So, as he walked the streets of the large, city like village, he couldn't help but try to listen to everything he could.

Children laughed as they ran down the cobblestone alleyways, everyone's footsteps different from each others. People talked as loud as they wanted to and told jokes of every kind. Old men told tales outside of taverns and inns where younger men cheered and chanted, singing tunes as they held their mugs high in the air. Fairies flew across the sky, both small and large, some with packages and some not. The wonderful sounds of magic danced in the air next to him and he turned to watch as a group of children cheered on a witch who continued to make toys for them with a smile on her face. He stopped in his tracks, smiling as she danced her fingers around each other, a purple sort of mist surrounding them with glistening chimes. A small wooden toy horse appeared not long after and the mist evaporated as the girls and boys cheered happily.

The village was much more than he had expected. He had counted on people being either so angry they spat at each other or everyone being so sickly and depressing that the world seemed gray. But this was far from gray. His best, most trusted friend walked beside him and seemed just as joyful and as happy as the children they watched. His scaly black ears twitched and his grin became so wide, he could feel hair fall into his mouth. Even as they walked away, the two turned to watch as the witch created more gifts for her young guests. 

“Do you still think this is such a bad idea?” The young prince asked, looking up at his friend to see him with just as wide eyed as he was.

He quickly shook his head and looked down at him. “No. Wonderful idea.” His accent was present but not as thick as it had been years ago. Even if he did switch between his native tongue and the language almost everyone spoke. “Very wonderful idea, Hiccup.”

Hiccup smiled happily and continued on his way with him, his bag in hand. If his father knew what he was doing and where he was going, he wouldn't be allowed to roam the gardens even anymore. Or at least, for a while. 

For as long as he could remember, his father had been afraid of the village that surrounded his stone home. At first, Hiccup thought it was hate; every time he talked about them, his people, he never had something nice to say. The list of reasons to never go past the castle gates was long and continued getting longer every month. His father told him about cannibalism among the common people, thieves, kidnappers, murders, wizards and witches that experimented on unsuspecting passers by. But the more he walked to his destination, the metals shop, the more he saw they were all lies. For his people, at most. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that there was evil in the world and that chances of finding it was good, but it didn't stop him from believing in the good of the world. And at that moment, all he could think about was the good.

The villagers, as well as the entire kingdom knew very well the basics of what happened beyond the castle walls. The king married, had a son, lost his wife, changed through court wizards; the simple things. The details of everything; the name of the son, where the wife had gone to and what had happened to her, the look of all of them was all unknown. And though Hiccup knew this, he still half expected people to stop, gasp, or bow. When they didn't, he felt slightly confused and mostly relieved, smiling as he continued on with his own business. 

Walking into the metals shop was about as sudden an arrow hitting your leg. Though he was used to silence, it struck him hard when he walked into the store to only hear ticking from the gods only know where. With his plans sweaty in his hand, he began walking around, searching for the last few pieces he needed for a few of his inventions. He smiled as he pawed through the scraps of molded metal, showing his friend the plans, and discussing how big it must be in the quietest whisper he could muster as not to disturb whoever else was in the store. Once he was finished and his bag was full, he stopped and stared at the counter where a clerk stood, answering questions a newly arrived costumer had asked.

“I walk up and talk to him and then I give him the money, right?” Hiccup whispered, still keeping his eyes trained on the two. 

His friend nodded. “Tell him you want things in bag. Nice not mean.” He whispered back with a smile. 

“Right.” The brunet nodded and looked up at him as the costumer walked out. “Thanks, Toothless.”

His heart began to beat faster than he thought possible. At home, in the castle, the only time he talked to others is when he was spoken to first. So if there was someone he didn't want to talk to around, he could simply walk away and grab the attention of someone else. But this wasn't the case. Sadly, he had to be the first one to talk and it made his hands sweat more to where, the ink that his plans were written in started to bleed a blackish blue all over the palm of his left hand. 

Hiccup took a deep breath and walked up to the counter. Toothless placed a hand on his back to sturdy him almost as he dumped the contents of his bag onto the counter's surface. For a moment, he stuttered as the clerk looked everything over and began adding up the cost of it all. Greetings were slaughtered by his tongue, names turned meaningless in microseconds; it was a murder of words and he could see just how horrible he was doing by the look in the clerk's eyes.

“Somethin' the matter, boy?” He asked, writing down the amount on a greasy slip of paper which he handed to Toothless.

The prince shook his head. “Hi, I-I would like to buy these!” He finally stammered and gestured to everything he had laid out. 

“I had figured...” The clerk nodded. “Your buddy has your receipt.”

He quickly turned and looked over at the small piece of paper, narrowing his eyes. That couldn't be the right amount. “Umm...sir, these parts should cost much more than what you wrote. Shouldn't they?” 

The man scuffed slightly, placing each gear, rod, and scrap piece of metal into the young customer's bag. “Damn rich kids...” He muttered to himself. “No, I have given you the right amount.” 

Hiccup looked back and forth from the paper to the clerk then back before placing his money on the counter. “It is all there, sir. And a tip for your wonderful service.” With that, he shot him a smile and walked out, his bag bouncing off his hip with a clank each step.

“Service not great.” Toothless muttered mostly to himself. 

“I know.” Hiccup muttered back.

For a moment, he thought about starting his way back up to the castle. His father had a meeting with a visiting King that day and it was perfect cover for him to escape his home and roam about the village he had always watched from his bedroom window. The meeting would go on for hours; first starting with simple things like a tour, then negotiating and chatting about lands, trades, and other such formal matters, and ending with the two in the kitchen, chugging mead away with the chef, Gobber, while singing tunes about lovely ladies in far away kingdoms. He had seen it so many times before, if it had not happened, he would fear something had gone wrong in the meeting. So, after a moment of staring up at the sky then down at the ground, figuring out the time by the shadows, he decided to stay out and about a while longer. 

The two toured almost every part of the village; the graveyard, the college for both magic use and academic, and lastly, the inn. It was a warm and mostly made of wood. The fireplace crackled and the people talked from whispers to cheers and shouts. The tavern which was held on the first floor of the inn, was lively and just as joyful as it was outside. Bards played in the corner far from where they sat, but it didn't stop it's beauty from reaching their table. As a waitress placed their lunch and mugs of water in front of them, Hiccup smiled happily and looked out the window they had sat next to. It was a true wonder why his father kept so much of this amazing world from him. Everything was amazing in its own way; from the cobblestone streets to the magic dancing in the air to even some of the grumpy clerks and costumers that were at each booth or store. Even if his father was scared of the rest of the world, he could have at least let his son have this much. Hiccup took a sip from his mug and looked back over at where most of the people were, on the other side of the tavern dancing as they listened to the bards sing and play. These were the people he would soon look after and help, the people he would protect. It was so surreal. He sipped his water once more and began eating his sandwich, chuckling when he saw Toothless shoving food into his mouth like a crazed animal. 

Time seemed to run by smoothly inside the inn. By the time they were done and everything was paid for, Hiccup looked and saw that at least two hours had passed when it only really felt like half an hour. As they both stood and gathered their bags, getting ready to start the walk back home and possibly right into a good scolding, a woman walked in with the strangest look on her face.

She glanced about as if she were at home searching for something. Her eyes didn't stay on one thing for long but they always returned to that spot just to check once more that it really truly wasn't there. A waitress walked up to her after a while, asking what was wrong and if she was alright. 

“I'm looking for my daughter and her friends.” She said, starting to worry when there was no sign of them. “They play hide and seek around the whole town. I thought they would have come in here.” 

“Did you try the docks?” One man asked. 

Hiccup stopped with his hand on his bag, watching as they called out places the group of children might have gone to. When she nodded her head and told them she went to each one, worry began to grow, showing on his face. He looked up at Toothless for some kind of comfort only to get the same look reflected back at him.

The room slowly became silent and the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the fireplace. Everyone stared off into space or tapped their chins as they thought of more places children liked to play in. Slowly, they all looked at each other with a look of dread and turned back to the woman. 

“Did you check near the forest entrance?” An elderly man asked.

The woman, who had looked confused when everyone looked so alarmed, began to widen her eyes. “N-no...no I didn't. Oh Gods, you don't think they went in, do you?”

“What's so wrong about the forest?” Hiccup asked, gaining the attention of everyone around. “Is it wolves? Bears? Is that what you are afraid of?” 

“You're new around here, aren't ya, boy?” The barkeep asked, leaning on his arms as he stared at him. 

The prince nodded. He had been born in this kingdom, this city of a village, and had been raised here. But in all truth, he was new to everything beyond the castle walls. “Yes, sir, I am.”

“Then you don't know what horrors there are in those trees.” He pointed out the window slightly, hardly moving. “There is a beast far more gruesome than any bear or wolf. A beast of magic that has lived there before our mothers and our mothers' mother and so on.”

The waitress nodded with a frown. “His hair is as white as the snow he creates and his eyes as beady as a rat's. With one look, he could kill you. My father saw him while gathering mint at the border of the forest last year. He died before the snow fell.”

“A cousin of mine was bringing corn from her farm to the town over.” Said a flute player, his frown sagging his face. “She passed through that forest. Her cart was found just outside the forest entrance with most of the corn missing.”

Others joined in with their own stories of the beast in the forest but they all ended the same. “The forest brings your death. That beast will rip your heart out. You will be lost forever.”

Many stories were told to him during the years. How the village was full of savages to how the rest of the world would kill him for just being him. But never did he even think that other people believed such lies. 

Hiccup frowned and sighed, looking up at Toothless who shook his head. The two had been together practically since birth and the tallest of the two knew that look more than he knew the back of his own hand. It was the look of wanting. He wanted to help this soon to be childless mother. And as he shook his head no, the brunet turned to the woman, telling her that he'd go look near the forest. A groan escaped his throat as they left the inn with everyone else in awe.

He rolled his eyes. “Hiccup, bad idea.” 

“We'll be fine, Toothless. The guards and my father told us stories that were clearly made up about the village. Maybe the villagers are wrong about this story as well.”

As they got closer to the forest, the number of people and other creatures thinned. Houses started to spread apart from each other until there were none left. The street they followed slowly turned into a path, made of nothing but beaten dirt. It continued through the forest entrance where a small group of children stood. A little girl, the woman's daughter, stood in front while her friends took to the side, urging her to walk in.

The brunt didn't hear what they were saying, but he could at least hear their voices and see the girl shake her head as her friends tried to usher her in. His foot steps quickened till he was standing right behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder as her friends called her a chicken, a wuss, scaredy cat.

“But I don't want to go in!” She cried, getting closer to Hiccup.

“Such a baby!” Her friends laughed.

Toothless glared at the small group of children and felt his hand twitch as he held back from throwing one of them into the forest. Seeing the twitch, his friend patted his arm and handed him the girl before turning to them with a firm look. “Go back to your families. You are lucky they did not see you torture this poor girl to tears or they would have done the same to you.”

Their smiles dropped and their eyes shifted toward the forest. A small wind blew, rustling the bushes that stood off the path and causing the children to whimper, running away. Some screamed slightly and some just panted, looking back to see if the monster in the woods would follow them at all.

Hiccup chuckled slightly, shaking his head. There was no beast in this forest. It was all more thank likely their imagination. He turned to Toothless with a grin, feeling more accomplished than he had been in so long and began his walk back into the village before hearing the bushes rustle once more.

Looking back, he saw what looked to be cotton stuck in the branches of a bush. He walked closer toward it, only stopping when he came close to the first tree at the entrance. The wind blew again, brushing away leafs and twigs, showing more of the pure white cotton that was deeply stuck. But the wind did not stop and slowly, a thin figure stood from the bush, staring at him with bright blue eyes. The figure was a teen, perhaps a bit older than Hiccup was and every bit as pale as his white hair. He frowned at the sight of the two, shaking his head as he stepped out of the bush and tried to shoo them. The brunet just stepped closer, going a bit past the tree he hid next to. 

Toothless grabbed his friend's shoulder as he watched. While he was interested in mischief and pranks, Hiccup was interested in the creating and the unknown. He loved to figure out how things ticked while the taller of them loved to slap a good pie into one's face. Now, though, there were no pranks, no smiles or laughs to be had. And frankly, he wished his best friend would do the uncharacteristic thing and walk back home before they found out if the rumors from the villagers were true. 

“Who are you?” The young prince asked, ignoring the tugging of his sleeve. “Are you this beast they all speak of.”

Snow began to fall softly around the other teen, his face twisting with regret and worry. The wind blew harder and even though it was hard to hear his own thoughts, he heard the 'beast' speak a single word. A warning.

“Leave.”


	2. Chapter II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for such a big delay. There was a lot going on with my family, with the holidays, with my personal life. But I won't give this up, though. I have plans for this.

Aster had been part of the royal guard since he was sixteen years of age. He fought many battles, guarded gates for endless nights, and even became the personal guard of the royal family when the prince was just born. And even now, after being retired for the past few years, he is still seen as gentle to his friends and ruthless to his enemies. As young Hiccup trotted up the path to the front gates where Aster stood, the guards on duty began wondering which one the prince was in the man's eyes; was he a friend still or an enemy based on the glare he gaze the boy?

Toothless glared slightly back, his chest bumping against the back of Hiccup's shoulder. As the gray haired man began walking toward them, he swung a protective arm around the brunet's shoulders, his ears pressed back and his lip curling into a snarl. The very few people who had ever given his friend that look had always meant to cause harm on him. Sometimes, it was physical and others, it was emotionally and usually had to do with his father. It was more than likely the later but he didn't want to take chances this time.

"Where've you been?" Aster asked, his southern kingdom accent showing greatly. "Your father heard first so he's had time to cool off. What in the hells were you thinkin'?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I just wanted to go outside." He said softer than he had intended to. "I had Toothless with me, nobody would have hurt me."

"Ya think a mutant pet would have stopped someone from kidnappin' you?" He scuffed and shook his head, crossing his arms as he turned and lead them past the opened gates. "No offense, but do ya really think, in that body, he would burn them to death by breathing fire?"

They both frowned and looked at each other before looking down. The youngest began playing with his fingers and thumbs while the oldest slowly and shamefully swung his tail in front of him, playing with each vein he could feel in his tail fin. It was a very tough subject for the both of them, something that had plagued their thoughts both asleep and awake. Hiccup could still remember that grotesque form his friend was forced to take on and Toothless could still hear the others screams and cries when he turned away from him. Aster frowned as silence took over them and followed all the way into the castle where nothing else was known. Their footsteps echoed slightly and every few minutes, they could hear someone cough but other than that, it was almost as if they walked right into an abandoned fortress, stone walls and tapestries everywhere with hardly any light.

Hiccup glanced over at Toothless as they walked down the very familiar hall that lead to the very personal study of Stoick, his father. The half dragon was looking up at the paintings that lined the walls the closer they got. They were all personal paintings of the royal family and whom else they considered family. Some had guards standing and sitting by them, others had kids from the village sitting with royal children. The brunet looked up and around until his eyes caught a single painting. It was tall like the others and all new to him, a tapestry laying underneath on the ground. He stopped in his tracks and stared. The king was grinning, crazy red hair pointing out at every end. His wife, the queen, stood next to him, her hand on his shoulder, looking much calmer. On either side of her were guards, high standing knights, both smiling, clearly trying and failing to be as calm as the queen. And just at their feet sat two well dressed boys. One kept the crown on his head, shoulders back and posture the same as they taught Hiccup to do everyday. His clothes were warm and shined just at the ends of everything, his face as straight and boring as a stick. The other boy, though, had poor posture, bore the biggest grin of all, had cooler, much lighter clothes that seemed to blend well with his pale skin...and white hair. His blue eyes glittered slightly and they were much more natural than the dye used to try and make his clothes the same shade. Hiccup's eyes widened as he stared at this much younger, much happier version of the beast in the woods. Looking at the golden plaque that was placed on the frame, he began to wonder more questions. The painting was nearly three hundred years old. Everyone should be dead. Perhaps this was the beast's relative, his greatest grandfather.

Before being able to ask, though, Aster walked over and wrapped an arm around the young prince's shoulders, pulling him away from the painting while mumbling about the horrible mental state the maids might be in. The closer they got, the smaller the extended considered families became. The last one, the one closest to the door was his own, his father standing with an ax, the tips of the blades on the ground. His mother sitting in a chair next to him, Aster behind her, and himself sitting on the ground by their feet, Toothless happily grinning as he sat behind him in complete dragon form. The sounds of shouting came from the door and Hiccup knew that he was in a world of trouble. The visiting king's voice stopped him from ranting, keeping as calm as he could, his accent thick like chowder. Once the door opened, the words were made clear and they weren't simply just voices anymore.

Stoick looked over with a relived sigh. "Thank you, Aster." He walked over, giving a slight glare to his son as he walked them in, closing the door behind them. "Hiccup, what were you doing on the other side of the castle walls?"

"I was just looking around." He shrugged, looking down and scooting closer to Toothless. "I'm going to rule this kingdom someday, I might as well know who I'll be ruling over."

"It is dangerous out there, son!" Stoick was a large man whom moved his arms around when he was frustrated and talking. This 'gift' of sorts was passed down to his son who moved his arms around whenever he talked. "You could have died! You could have been kidnapped! Turned into some sort of monster or been sold into slavery! You know I've been talking a lot about the slave trade these past two years, why can't you just listen?"

"But I'm not hurt, dad!" Hiccup's voice wasn't as angry as his father's more so as it was begging for him to listen. He stood up, gesturing out the window as he talked. "Those people are good people. They didn't once hurt me or touch me or anything else. I was fine!"

"And the monsters!" He didn't bother to bow to his son's begs let alone acknowledge he spoke in the first place. "Ever since you were little I told you about them! How there are dangerous beings out there! And those dangerous things, those...those monsters, they'd attack without a second thought! And you just threw yourself into harms way because you were curious?"

"Stoick." The visiting king stood, walking over to the man. His beard was long and more tamed than anyone other Hiccup had ever seen. It was white with age, reminding him of the painting and the beast and the snow.

He placed a hand on Stoick's shoulder, his thick accent rolling off his tongue as he spoke. "He is just a boy. Only one friend. Maybe letting him in the guard barracks to socialize with the trainees would be good, yeah?"

The air stood heavy and silent, tension so thick that both boys were too afraid to move or breath, possibly breaking everything. Stoick glared at his ally before shaking his head, scuffing and looking his son over. After a second, he shook his head again and scuffed, glancing back at the man with a lighter glare. But the visiting king didn't stop. He smiled and nodded slightly whenever the actions were repeated, gesturing toward the two stiff teens standing before them. It wasn't long before Stoick gave a long, heavy sigh and dropped his arms to his sides.

"Fine. But I do not want to hear that you've been playing around with the weapons yourself, Hiccup. Or I swear, you won't come out of your room for a week." That was the biggest punishment he could give to his son. He never went outside the castle gates and never even explored the barracks on the other side of his home. The halls were his playgrounds, the garden was his park, and every room he treated as a shop when he was much younger.

Hiccup nodded quickly. "I won't touch anything. I'll just talk."

As they began walking out, Toothless grinned, his tail swinging slightly behind him. "Sir is very kind today." He whispered, his tongue flickering slightly.

The brunet chuckled and scratched behind one of his ears. Even after all that has changed about him, behind his ears and around his neck were still the same sensitive spots Hiccup always knew. He smiled as the purring noise he had known since the very first day they met escaped Toothless' throat. It gave him a type of nostalgia that made his eyes heavy and his body relaxed. What the sound of an old and almost forgotten lullaby does to others, the same happened with him and the purrs. He could remember it clearly almost as if it was happening at that moment; him laying in bed, his head resting on the space between belly and chest of his then fully dragon friend. The others black wings encasing him, allowing the warmth to be traveled from toes to forehead. Some nights, his tail would wrap around his ankle as a sort of reassurance that he was safe and there were no boogeymen in the world. They still slept in the same bed but it wasn't the same. Toothless was no longer a dragon and yet he wasn't a human, either. He was some sort of in between that would both terrify and intrigue anyone's mind.

The two stayed silent as they walked around just for the joy of walking around. Hiccup would look up at paintings and search for the beast's image or something similar to it but every other painting was a depiction of war or a wedding. One was even just of the palace many, many years ago when people were allowed on the grounds for celebrations. There was royalty dancing with common folk and nobles talking with merchants in the painting and he frowned as he looked it all over, seeing the differences of yesterday and today. A guard coughed down the hall and he jumped quickly, backing away from the painting and continuing his way down to one part of his home he'd never been down before.

He skipped down the stairs, his hand hovering over the railing as he did. The sound of his footsteps didn't reach the walls or even his ears until he stepped off the stairs and his shoes clapped against the stone floor of the palace's entrance hall. The light dribbling of the fountain in the middle of the floor clashed with his footsteps as he turned down the unfamiliar hallway, leading to the barracks of the guards that had been watching over him almost his whole life. Toothless walked closely behind him, keeping his eyes on the doors while Hiccup looked up at the paintings and tapestries. Great Captains of the Guard were shown in shinning armor and abused armor. Some were outside while others sat with family or friends inside. It was surprising how many actually smiled in their portraits and he smiled back before turning to glance at the doors.

Bronze plates were nailed into each wonderfully crafted oak door, names and titles etched into the metal. The Captain, the head of the night guard, the head of the day guard, the head of the village guards and so on. The last door at the very end was more simple than the rest, almost like a fitted board that came from the sea. The plate on it was made from copper and the lettering wasn't nearly was sophisticated and lovely as the others. 'Barracks' it read. No names or titles or anything fancy, no designed border on the edge of the plate. He raised an eyebrow and looked around, expecting someone to pull his hand away from the doorknob or for a guard to tell him to leave the hall at once. Even though he was allowed down there and allowed passed the door, he still felt as if he was doing something horribly wrong. Just as he went to turn the knob, someone on the other side opened it quickly and glanced at him as they walked out.

He had seen that guard a few times, staying by his father's side and almost always doing jobs for him. She was silent and when he looked down the corridor, watching her leave, he could see the swords attacked to her belt; short and thin, just like herself. Toothless glared and slightly growled until he turned to the barracks' door, opening it all the way for him and his friend. Together, they walked in and were intently hit with the sounds of fighting shouts and drunk laughter, the smells of different types of alcohol burned their eyes. Hiccup coughed slightly and walked in, looking around with watery eyes. They were in a very simple room, beds bunked on top of each other and pressed against the walls. In the middle of the whole room was four more, held together like a square. On the wall across from them was an open door leading outside where most of the guards were. Walking toward it, the two saw a wooden ramp that split in two; one side going down to the closed off courtyard, the other going up to the towers that stood above the walls of the castle.

One girl about his age hopped from foot to foot in the grassless training grounds beneath them. A sword twirled in one hand and her shield was held up high in the other. Her braid bounced side to side with her movements and was suddenly flung over her shoulder as she lunged toward her sparing companion. The companion in turn lifted his own shield and tried to swing his own blade. She stopped his quickly and tapped the top of his helmet with the handle of her sword, jumping back as he dropped to the ground. Hiccup glanced up at Toothless as two other guards advanced toward the girl, attacking her only to get tapped on the head.

Toothless nodded. "No one touch Hiccup." He said in a whisper, nudging Hiccup to go down the ramp to the plain training field.

"I know, Toothless."

"No weapons, Hiccup."

"I knooowww." He rolled his eyes and carefully walked down, his shoes slightly sinking into the overly used land.

A few people glanced over at him, some whispering to their friends, others pointing as he leaned against the wall and watched. Slowly, the shouts turned into whispers, the cheering turned into stares. The sparing in the middle of the grounds stopped and the girl with the blonde braid looked over with her companions.

Hiccup quickly focused down on his feet as she walked up to him, his right foot moving to cover the left. He swung his arms to hide behind his back and hung his head until he felt the hood of his tunic would come and swing over his head. Over her footsteps, he could hear guards whispering about how he's the prince, and what was he doing here.

Finally getting to him, she placed a hand on her hip, shifting over to one leg. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice half filled with curiosity, the other half sounding like she didn't care one way or the other.

"My father said I could come down here." Hiccup glanced up at her, slightly moving closer to his best friend. "He said it would be good for me to be around someone my own age."

She nodded and looked him over. "Oh..." She muttered. "What weapon do you hold?"

"Weapon? No, no. I play instruments and practice magic." It wasn't a lie, he did play instruments and he did practice magic with the new court wizard, but he slaughtered tunes and disgraced magic every time he tried. The only thing he really knew how to do and do well was create something useful from bits and pieces of other useless things.

She scuffed and threw her head over her shoulder to get her bangs out of her face. "Then come on. We'll show you."

"Hiccup not touch weapons." Toothless objected and put a protective arm over his shoulders.

"He won't touch anything. Not yet, anyways."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading the first chapter! There will be more to come, hopefully. Um...please leave comments or kudos if you wish for it to continue, please let me know what you think. Thank you so much for your time!


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